Dahrim and his Reaper squad waited eagerly in the middle of the Sindhu desert. Orbital intelligence had projected that an unidentified object was going to land here. His men were surprised when their leader commanded them to stay put even though the object that landed was an imperial ship. This was one of the rebel capitals, hidden away in the vastness of the space. Their cause slowly gained power and meaning under the protection of secrecy. 

Dahrim, a veteran aware who had arrived on Hamon four Enclavian years ago, slowly rose through the rebel ranks. Now he led a powerful team of aware's.He could feel the impatience in his men after they started to feel the unusual aura of someone in the ship. It was ever so familiar to him. 

Sometime later, the bay door opened. A woman and a young boy came out of the ship. 

'Old friend! How have you been?' Lisbeth said with a happy tone, pointing to Dahrim. Even though his face was heavily covered she could feel his aura. 

'What are you doing here?' Dahrim asked. 

'Just passing by. I need some things and I also have a gift for the good inhabitants of this planet. Don't worry I have already removed the trackers.' She said pointing to the ship. 

'All of you, search it thoroughly for intelligence and then take it to the docks.' Dahrim ordered. 'And you two, come with me.' He said to Lisbeth and Ethen.

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Ethen couldn't believe what he was seeing. The rebellion crisis was much more serious than he thought. They were exterminating populaces with even a slight sense of rebellion. Yet here they were in all their glory. A thriving megacity in a barren planet not any less than the imperial cities he knew. He watched the bustling city from the balcony of the 147th floor of an administrative building, Dahrim's office. He and Lisbeth were talking and he was told to wait here.

'Okay. So you used the Mask of Chaos, murdered a group of veteran sword dancers and stole their ship? You say they were carrying out an extermination order?'

'Yeah. That boy might have more information. You can interrogate him if you want to.' 

'I will.. talk.. to him. So having the System and the Worshippers of the Void up on your ass wasn't enough? You just had to go ahead and mess around with the Empire too. If you're telling the truth then I'm grateful that you did.'

'Grateful? You've truly become a part of them, I see. When you decided that you won't travel with us anymore and stay here, I didn't really think that you were so serious about it. Good for you.' 

'These bastards kill weak and innocent people without mercy. So forgive me if I think that it is a good thing that you stopped them.' 

'They wouldn't if the actual rebels came out of hiding and confronted them. Instead of inciting the young and clueless.' Lisbeth said with a sarcastic tone. 

'I would rather get fucked by the Emperor than hear about morality from you. You want a reconstruction and a getaway ship? Fine. But leave as soon as you can.' Dahrim said as he pressed a tab on the electromagnetic screen radiating from his table and soon a man entered. 'Take this woman to ASAP reconstruction center.' He ordered him.

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When Elsa woke up three female androids were dressing her. A dress made of armestine. Such clothes were only worn by nobles. It kept the body in an optimal temperature. Although clothes made out of armestine were thin and light, they were harder than katchin. No amount of stress and tension could create a tear. 

Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

She felt that something was rushing through her body. It gave her strength. As soon as she remembered what happened to her she lost control of herself. Suddenly her vision changed. She could see more now and that only disturbed her. A feeling of indignation made her queasy as the space around her abruptly vanished. As if everything had ceased to exist. Only she, in a cold and harsh darkness, prevailed. Then she felt a warm touch on her shoulder and was pulled back to the world she knew. 

'That is a realm where the line between everything and nothing is blurred. It will devour you if you try to see it.' Brethora spoke. 

'What have you done to me?!' Elsa screamed with rage.  

'I have opened your world. Calm down and get ready for the inaugural ceremony. It would seem inappropriate if my Champion behaves so angrily in front of my subjects.' He spoke calmly. 

His words only angered her more. 

'The force that I feel wreaking havoc inside of me, I can rip you apart with it.' She said. 

'You undoubtedly have the highest position of power in the empire now but I own you. Let me give you an example.' He said. 'I command you to calm down and attend the ceremony with me.' Brethora spoke with a commanding voice

Her anger suddenly disappeared, replaced by a feeling of serenity. 

'See? Blame your genes. You know exactly why I chose you.' 

She was afraid of this.The mark gave untold power to its wielder but for a value too high. Her mind and body belonged to the Emperor now.

Everything was going according to Brethora's plan. High Minister of Warfare's illegitimate daughter was the key to a big problem. The more extremist portion of the empire was still disloyal to him and he used an extremist way to tackle them. He could feel it. He now had authority over the bloodline of this girl. 

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Ethen was seated in front of the man called Dahrim as he gave up everything he knew, which wasn't that much. 

'As expected, you're useless to me.' 

'This is all I know.' 

'So you're trying to flee with her, huh? Do you have any idea who she is?' 

Maybe this man will tell him about her. 

'I don't but I believe her.' 

'She just tried to get rid of you now. You could just stay here. We are badly in need of people gifted with awareness but we will take you under our protection only if you decide to fight for our cause. ' 

'I respectfully decline as I don't want to use my 'gift'. I will take this risk and see if she keeps her word.' 

'Good luck with that. By the way, where are you two even going? Another independent colony, I assume?' 

'No. Into the Systematic Governments territory.' 

He took some time to realize what he had just heard and then he started to laugh hysterically. 

'She has gone completely insane, I assume. Well, she is deranged enough to use something like the Mask of Chaos. So I shouldn't judge.' He said trying to control himself. 'She is the most wanted criminal of the system and the most unpredictable being you'll ever come across. And that is just the start. So take some rest, travel around the city and reconsider my offer.' Dahrim said.

This revelation didn't bother him as he had deduced that she was someone like that. Either a deep undercover agent or a wanted criminal. Her being a criminal seemed more likely. Someone like her wouldn't be used as a secret agent. It would be a waste of potential. She certainly had a twisted sense of morality. 

'I will do that, sir.' Ethen replied. 

'I will assign a guard to show you around our military training grounds and awareness development academy.' Dahrim said. 

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The gauntlets were pushing in an unusual amount of painkiller particles in her. Certainly, getting your face ripped off is painful. The creators of the mask put several safeguards in it so that no one could abuse its power too much. Painkillers would take away any physical pain but the mask fused directly with the brain and the nervous system. So only people with an extremely high pain threshold could wear it.  

Another physical reconstruction, another face. No. She decided that she will return to her original form. Going back into the system would be a death sentence for her. The Elder Council will surely feel her existence, so there was no point in hiding herself with a new face.

Lisbeth was busy making a mental list of things she would do after going back. Going back to her home planet to meet with her adoptive family was at the top of her list. She wondered how they felt about her now.